Penny McCurdy-Western and Wildlife Artist

I am so Blessed to have all these Awesome, Talented friends! My goal is to showcase one of these fabulous women each month so we can all ohhhhh and ahhhhh over their incredible talents. It’s my humble opinion that we women in general don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we create. We’re too busy making sure everyone else is taken care of and recognized for their achievements and we kind of stay in the background when it comes to our own creative abilities. Having said that, let’s meet November’s Awesome, Talented friend.

I’d like to introduce Penny McCurdy. Penny is my neighbor back in Republic, Washington. If I step out onto my front porch I can see the small Ranch where she lives with her husband Audie. They have horses, and of course you can’t have a ranch without dogs and a cat or two. Penny is an Artist whose medium is oil paint. She specializes in capturing on canvas, the stunning scenery and wildlife that is her backyard in the far Northeast region of Washington.

Here’s Penny’s story in her own charming words. “I was born in Spokane, Washington, but grew up out in the country. I’ve got to tell you that I have always enjoyed art and drawing. When I was just little, my Dad would bring home stacks of paper from Kaiser Aluminum where he worked and I could draw to my hearts content. We lived out on Indian Trail Rd., on a farm. Some of my earliest memories involve art, such as when I disappeared for most of one day and colored an entire inside of an empty grain silo as far up as I could reach. I was 4 or 5 years old! Funny in those days parents didn’t worry. We lived way out in the country and I guess they figured we’d make it back when we got hungry. When I turned 7, we moved up to Five Mile Prairie. We bought a farm and I discovered a new “Art Medium,” tractor engine grease! The sides of my Dad’s tractor were wonderful places to draw “etchings.” He wasn’t as pleased as I was with my art, at least not on his tractor! Finally I found my favorite medium which are Oils. I start out each canvas with a base color of acrylic just to lay in the color. Then I expand to the deep tones that only oil paint can bring out. I truly love what I paint. The great outdoors! Every time I go out into the woods I see the contrast of light and shadows hitting the landscapes. I just want to drop everything and start painting. I have done a lot of “packing” pictures ( pack horses and riders), because of my love for hunting and horses.

I’m a self taught artist and I paint what I love.

Landscape scenes….

Rustic old cabins like these…..

Old Barns….

Horses….

And Wildlife……

I prefer to paint in oils on canvas as well as old saw blades….

 Over the years I have entered my paintings in the local county fairs and have received several Best of Shows. In 2012, I joined the Gold Mountain Gallery in Republic, Washington. I currently serve on the Jury Committee to review new art for the Gallery. In the past, I have had the pleasure of teaching Art lessons and painting classes to home schooled children. Now I paint full time in my studio at “Two Horse Arts.” “

I truly appreciate Penny’s artistry. I’m someone who has trouble painting a wall! I can’t imagine the talent required to create something as beautiful as these paintings. I chose the Moose painting as the Featured Image because I love Moose! We spent many years vacationing up in Canada and I saw many, many of these incredible animals. Penny has captured the majesty of the moose just perfectly and the play of color takes me right back to Algonquin Park.

Thank you Penny, for letting me showcase your work on my blog!